Wes Streeting will unveil plans for portable medical records, which will allow every NHS patient to store all their information digitally in one place on Monday, despite fears of breaching privacy and creating a target for hackers.
The Health Secretary is launching a major consultation on the Government’s plans to transform the NHS from “analogue to digital” over the next decade. It will offer ‘patient passports’ containing health data that can be quickly accessed by GPs, hospitals and ambulance services.
New laws will also be introduced on Wednesday to make patients’ health records available across all NHS trusts in England. It will speed up patient care, reduce the number of repeat medical tests and minimize medication errors, he said.
The digital data account will standardize information systems across the NHS, making it possible to share electronic records across all parts of the service and bring them together into one patient record on the NHS app.
Streeting sought to allay patients’ fears about “big brother” surveillance of private data, telling the Guardian it would be “protected and anonymised” as the government pursued new technological options.
He also defended the government’s plan to transform England’s healthcare system by working with big tech and pharmaceutical companies to develop new treatments, saying he would get the “best possible deal” for the NHS.
The Health Secretary told the Guardian that the development “means the NHS can work hand-in-hand with the life sciences sector and provide access to our large and diverse range of data”.
He added: “The conversation we start today will include questions such as how we can ensure patients’ data is protected and anonymised – people are keen to help save the NHS but are understandably worried about ‘big brother’ .
“We will also explore how we can get the best possible deal for the NHS in return, whether that means extra funding, cheap deals on the latest medicines or priority access so that the very latest treatments are available to NHS patients, and not just for those who can afford it.”
But medConfidentiala patient privacy campaign group, said Streeting’s plans would inevitably create a vulnerable database, the contents of which could then be shared with pharmaceutical companies.
Furthermore, the records can potentially be viewed by any of the NHS’s 1.5 million staff, even if they are not treating the patient.
“Wes Streeting plans a ‘big brother’ database. Your identifiable medical history and all your medical notes will no longer be managed by doctors and will be controlled by politicians who will decide who they are sold to – which will inevitably be whoever will pay for them,” said Sam Smith, a spokesperson for the group.
He added: “The proposals are a gift to stalkers and creeps who abuse NHS systems to find out the most basic private data that people only tell their doctors, and the Government shows no sign of taking the most basic steps to prevent stalkers and creeps from getting into trouble. access.
“Your complete medical history will be readable by anyone with access. And these new mega data stores would be at constant risk of being hacked.”
A public consultationinitiated by the last government when it considered a similar move and published in May this year, found that 21% of people surveyed disagreed with the statement that “I trust the NHS to keep my patient data safe”.
Many more people – two-thirds of respondents – said they would not want someone who is not treating them directly to have access to their medical records.
Rosa Curling, co-executive director of technology justice campaign group Foxglove, said: “Opening up NHS data to for-profit companies is a fundamental shift in the crucial relationship between patient and doctor, which is based above all on confidentiality and trust.
“Such a dramatic change cannot be implemented without a comprehensive plan to gain patient consent and trust, especially when anonymization has been debunked as an effective means of protecting patient privacy.”
The public is likely to be skeptical of Streeting’s plans, despite the benefits they are expected to deliver in the form of better care.
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During the May consultation, large majorities also said they were concerned that the NHS IT systems could be vulnerable to cyber-attacks (82%) and that the NHS could make mistakes in handling its data (65%) . Half (50%) were somewhat or strongly concerned that healthcare companies would sell their personal information to companies without their consent.
Of those surveyed, 69% said they would like to know if a summary of their GP records is collected nationally so that doctors outside the home can view their private data.
Streeting wrote in the Guardian: “The challenges facing the NHS today are enormous, but the opportunities are enormous. The revolution taking place today in science and technology will change the way we receive healthcare.
“Nye Bevan would have had no idea in 1948, but the model he created makes the NHS the best-placed healthcare system in the world to benefit from rapid advances in data, genomics, predictive and preventative medicine.
“This allows us to introduce patient passports, so whether you go to a GP or a hospital surgeon, they have your full medical history. We will be able to assess a child’s risk of disease from birth so that they can take steps to prevent the disease from occurring.”
Streeting launched a ‘national conversation’ with the public, health professionals and experts to shape the government’s 10-year NHS plan, which will be published next spring. Streeting said that in addition to the digitalisation of the NHS, he also wanted to see healthcare change. From hospitals to the community.
As part of this, the Government wants new community health centers where patients can see GPs, community nurses, healthcare providers, physiotherapists, health visitors and mental health specialists, all locally and under the same roof.
There will also be a third shift in focus, from disease to prevention, with the aim of reducing the time people spend chronically ill and preventing ill health. Smart watches and wearable technology will be delivered to millions of people with diabetes or high blood pressure, allowing them to monitor their own health at home.
The Prime Minister is expected to join Streeting at the launch of the new online platform at a London health center on Monday.
Keir Starmer said of the consultation: “We have a clear plan to fix the healthcare system, but it is only right that we hear from the people who rely on the NHS every day to have their say and shape our plan to give while we carry it out.
“Together we can build a healthcare system that puts patients first and delivers the care everyone deserves.
“We have a huge opportunity to get the NHS back on its feet. So let’s be the generation that takes the NHS out of the worst crisis in its history and makes it fit for the future.”